1 …He made it known by sending his
angel to his servant John, 2 who bore
witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all
that he saw. (Revelation 1)
As
we continue to delight in the themes of Scripture moving through Revelation,
today it stands out that the place of a “witness”
is a dominant chord in the symphony of God’s word. John “bore witness.” He was not the source of the Revelation. He did not
make up any of what he wrote. He passed on what he received.
Within
the biblical theme of the witness, the Bible makes clear that multiple
witnesses are required to validate a testimony.[1] That is why Jesus said things like, “If I
alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true.”[2] He also said that John the Baptist, the works he did in public, the
Father, and the Scriptures, all bore witness about him,[3] satisfying the need for a plurality of witnesses.
To
another group Jesus clarified: “Yet even
if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and
the Father who sent me.
In your Law it is written that the
testimony of two people is true. I am the one who bears witness about
myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.”[4]
This
carefulness to validate everything by witnesses is one of the realities that make
the word of God so trustworthy. Living witnesses must be in full agreement with
the witnesses who have gone before, with the writings of Scripture, with the
works and words of Jesus, and with the Holy Spirit.[5]
This
adds to the wonder of this first paragraph of the Revelation. It is from God to
Jesus, from Jesus to his angel, from the angel to John, from John to Jesus’
servants. The witnesses securely establish the Revelation.
Today
it stood out that John “bore witness to
the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.”
The rest of this book of prophecy tells us what John heard of each of these
three witnesses. However, it is praiseworthy to think of the consistent
revelation of the Triune God in his word. God the Father speaks the word of God;
God the Son gives testimony to all that he has heard from the Father.[6] This replays the Scriptural theme of the Son expressing the Father as
the Word of God,[7] the image of the invisible God,[8] the radiance of God’s glory,[9] and the only begotten of the Father[10].
When
the Father and the Son are passing on their revelation, it is the word of God
and the testimony of Jesus. As it was given to John through the angel, John
became a witness to the word, the testimony, and the things the angel showed
him.
When
Jesus had completed his work of revealing himself as the resurrected Savior, he
told his disciples, “You are witnesses of these
things.”[11] The hundreds of people he appeared
to more than satisfied the requirement for two or three witnesses.[12] He then promised them the Holy Spirit as the “power from on high”[13] that would enable them to
bear fruit in the proclamation of the gospel.
It
is significant that we are never given any requirement for witnesses except
that they have witnessed something. When Peter and John got in trouble for
healing a man in the name of Jesus, the religious leaders were stymied in how
to handle the situation. Scripture says: “Now
when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were
uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had
been with Jesus. But seeing the man who was healed standing
beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition.”[14]
What
was the qualification of Peter and John? That “they had been with Jesus." They had no education, and no
societal privilege. They were simply witnesses of the Jesus they had been with.
This
is what revelation presents to us. John was a witness to the word of God, the testimony
of Jesus, and the things the angel showed him. We could not ask for greater
validation. This is such a perfect witness that we can trust everything it says
while, at the same time, not go beyond what is written.[15] Why would anyone want to go beyond what is written when what is
written is the breathed-out word of God, the testimony of Jesus Christ, and the
work of Jesus’ angel? This treasure of wisdom and knowledge has enough in what
is written to keep the church bearing witness to the glory of the Scriptures
until Jesus comes in his glory.
© 2012 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, Canada, V1K
1B8 ~ in2freedom@gmail.com
[1]
Deuteronomy 19:15; Matthew 18:16; II Corinthians 13:1
[2]
John 5:31
[3]
John 5:32-40
[4]
John 8:16-18
[5]
John 15:26
[6]
John 15:15
[7]
John 1:1-2
[8]
Colossians 1:15
[9]
Hebrews 1:3
[10]
John 3:16
[11]
Luke 24:48
[12]
I Corinthians 15:3-11
[13]
Luke 24:49
[14]
Acts 4:13-14
[15]
I Corinthians 4:6
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